Mimi Hotel

Mimi Hotel, or better known as Resto Mimi, is located centrally in the northern part of Sambava, a crossroad town of the SAVA region (Sambava - Antalaha - Vohemar - Andapa) in northeastern Madagascar. Mimi Hotel does not only offer accommodation, but also a restaurant, patisserie and advice to nearby conservation areas and national parks.

From the hotel to Sambava Airport it is only a short 10-minute tuk-tuk ride. The taxi-brousse station with cars leaving to Vohemar and Andapa (5,000/7,000 Ariary in 2014) can be reached within ten minutes by foot.

Guests staying at Mimi Hotel can choose between 16 rooms in two-storey buildings and four separate standing bungalows. All rooms and bungalows have a private toilet and shower with hot water, satellite TV, mosquito net and fan. The bungalows as well as the rooms on the ground floor come with a terrace, the rooms on the upper floor with a balcony. On the hotel ground there is also a garden with plants and flowers of the region.

The price for a room on the ground floor is 40,000 Ariary, for a room on the second floor 45,000 Ariary and for a bungalow 55,000 Ariary, an extra bed costs 7,000 Ariary (prices from 2015).

The restaurant with space for up to 50 guests serves Malagasy, Chinese, a bit of Indian and European cuisine. Almost all the service staff can speak good English. As the food is very delicious and the prices moderate, the restaurant can be quite busy in the evening. A plus is the free Wifi available to all guests of the restaurant.

Next to the restaurant is the patisserie, where hotel guests can order breakfast in the morning. Throughout the day sweet delights such as cakes, croissants, tarte and ice-cream are available on the menu.

The owner of the entire establishment is Madame Sahondra, also known as "Mimi". Her son Bruno Lee Sio Tision is the president of the Regional Tourism Office (RTO). As Bruno visits all nearby conservation areas and national parks personally several times a year, he can give great advice to adventurers planning to discover the natural attractions of Marojejy National Park and Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve. Bruno can help to work out an itinerary as well as organise transport.

Most of the guests staying at Mimi Hotel use it as a basecamp before going into the wild or on their way back into civilisation. A shop at Mimi Hotel sells everything what one needs for a visit to the park (from toilet paper, mosquito spray, first aid to food such as canned tomatoes and spaghetti). A very reasonably priced laundry service takes care of the dirty clothes after days of hiking.